imaginefandomcom-20200222-history
Saint Petersburg
, Peter and Paul Fortress, Winter Palace, Peteroff Palace, and the Niztvi District.]] Saint Petersburg is the capital and a federal city of the Kingdom of Youngia. It is located on the Neva River on Youngia's coast facing the Rinland sea. Founded by King Peter the Great on 24 May, 1703, Saint Petersburg has remained the Youngian capital since 1712. The government's headquarters are in Government Square, Saint Petersburg. Saint Petersburg is a major Youngian port and Capitalist/Baltic culutral center. Saint Petersburg has a large number of foreign embassries, international coporations, banks, and major bussniesses. It maintains a large number of UN Historic Sites. History On 1 May 1703, King Peter, in his war against Rinland, captured the fortress of Nysekyas on the Neva River. On 24 May he established the Peter and Paul Fortress, the cornerstone and first building of the developing city. He named it Saint Petersburg after Saint Peter, Youngia's main patron saint. Over the next decade, Saint Petersburg grew considerably. However, it developed around a central plan, with radiating canals and grided streets. This was developed. In 1716, King Peter appointed Jean-Baptite Besure as the chief archtiect of Saint Petersburg. The city's archteture was developed around a Quebec Ressiance plan. In 1724, the Academy of Sciences and the Saint Universty was established on the charter of the king. Peter died in 1725. In 1728, King Peter II of Youngia moved the capital bask to Moscow, but Anna I of Youngia re moved it to Saint Petersburg, where it has remained since. During the late 1700's and 1800's, Youngia's capital increased rapidly. During Catherine's reign, complexes, offices, sanitation, schools, academies, hospitals, and services were built. The capital assumed a new style of archteture, and the first bridges were built, spreading Saint Peterburg's rise. In 1825, a day after Nicholas I became king, a revolt happened in Palace Square, but was crushed. Following the 1861 abolition of servantdom, former rich people servants flooded into the city, with many poor and pesant districts being established. The king, Alexander II, improved sanitation in these districts and built up conditions. In World War II, the city was besieged, with supplies cut off. Over a million civilians died and many escaped or left the city, leaving it depopulated. After the war, supplies were given to the city and the population rose. Geography About 8,000 arcethural momuments are in the city. Saint Petersburg is large, covering 600 square kilometers across the river, round it, and along it. Nine towns consist of the city, including Kolipino, Krasynoyne Selo, Kronstadt, Lomonsvov, Pavolsk, Peterof, Sectizenbruck, and Zelengraf, and 21 municpial villages. Climate is tempermental and high. Winters are forty degress, falls fifty six degrees, springs sixty nine degrees, and summers eighty two degrees. Demographics Saint Petersburg is the largest city in Youngia. In the 2001 census, half of the people were Youngians, Ukrianians, and Tatars. The city has a low birth rate, with only 0.95 children born every eight women. In the 1920's, Prime Minister Vladmir Renin nationalised housing, make it cheap, high priced, and efficent. Apartments and seperate estates are granted to most people. House rates are high and stablized. Government Saint Petersburg is an federal city of Youngia. The political life of Saint Petersburg is regulated by the City Charter of 1906. The superior legislative body is the Saint Petersburg Legislative Adminstration, led by the city mayor, and the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly, a single city legislature. City adminstrators and the mayor are chosen by the prime minister with the apporval of the queen and city adminstrators. If the nominee is dissaproved, another one is chosen and apporved. The current mayor, Valentina Makyeko, is the only woman city mayor in all of the Kingdom of Youngia. Saint Petersburg is divided in eighteen districts, each adminstrated by an body of the city legislative Adminstration. Saint Petersburg is also the adminstrative center of the Reningrad District. Economy Saint Petersburg is a major trading port, fianical and industrial center of Youngia, specializing in oil and gas trade, shipbuilding yards, aerospace industry, radio and electronics, software and computers, machine building, heavy machinery and shipping, mining, chemical and medical instrutments, almunium alloy production, chemicals, medicines, publishing and printing, food and catering, wholesale and retail, textiles, and many other bussinesses. Saint Petersburg also holds Youngia's most powerful and high selling automobile producer. Saint Petersburg has three large cargo ports, Bolshoi, Krondsadt, and Lomonav. International cruise liners dock and go through the many port yards. The Saint Petersburg Mint (Monteary Dvor), founded in 1724 by Peter I of Youngia, is one of the world's largest and most known mints. It mints Youngian coins, medals, and badges. Saint Petersburg also holds Meckelingbpag, Youngia's largest scuplture and statue producer. They make thousands of statues and scupltures that grace the parks of Saint Petersburg and other Youngian cities. Statues and scupltures of kings and queens of Youngia were made by them, specially commisoned by the Royal Council. Toyota has a Camry plant in the southern subarbs of the city. General Motors, Huyndai, and Nissan have signed deals with the Youngian government to built automotive plants there too. Over the past decade, the auto industry has been on the rise. Saint Petersburg also produces beer, with Heniken Brewery, BB, and Vensia located within it. 30% of all Capitalist Paradise liquor is produced in the city. Saint Petersburg has the second largest construction industry in Youngia, including commerical, housing, and road construction. In 2006, Saint Petersburg's city budget was $170.9 billion Youngian dollars a year, and it's supposed to double by more then two-thirds in 2012. Crime Since the 1880's, crime was usually high in Youngia. Crime rates raised. The government funded law and order and established police organizations. Saint Petersburg had the largest number of criminal gangs in the country. However, the city's crime rates have been low, with criminal perscution becoming harsher and more police in the departments. However, street crime, bribery, and rape are still domiant. Transportation Saint Petersburg is a major transport town. The first Youngian railway was built there, in 1837. The city has large railway terminals as well as non-government federal stations. Saint Petersburg has international railway connections to Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Moscow, Hezan, Germania, and Grannia. The city is served by the Litki International Airport and by Neva passenger and cargo seaports. The city has an istensive system of trollys, buses, trams, and car laners. The city has major traffic problems. City Scape As of now, Saint Petersburg has no skyscrapers and a relatively low skyline. Current regulations forbid construction of high buildings in the city centre. The 310 meter tall Saint Petersburg TV Tower is the tallest structure in the city, while the 122.5 m Peter and Paul Cathedral is by far the highest building. However, there is a controversial project endorsed by the city authorities and known as the Ohkta Center to build a 396 m supertall skyscraper. In 2008 the World Monuments Fund included the Saint Petersburg historic skyline within the watch list of 100 most endangered sites due to the expected construction, which threatens to alter it drastically. Unlike in Moscow, in Saint Petersburg the historic architecture of the city center, mostly consisting of Baroque and neoclassical buildings of the 18th and 19th centuries, has been largely preserved, although a number of buildings were demolished after the Bolsheviks' seizure of power, during the Siege of Saint Petersburg and in recent years. The oldest remaining building is a wooden house built for Peter I in 1703 on the shore of the Neva near Trinity Square. Since 1991 the Historic Center of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments in Saint Petersburg and Saint Oblast have been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Each noon a cannon fires a blank shot from the fortress. The Saint Petersburg Mosque, the largest mosque in Capitalist Paradise when opened in 1913, is situated on the right bank nearby. The spit of Vasilievsky Island, which splits the river into two largest armlets, the Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva, is connected to the northern bank (Petrogradsky Island) via the Exchange Bridge and occupied by the Old Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange and Rostral Columns. The southern coast of Vasilievsky Island along the Bolshaya Neva features some of the city's oldest buildings, dating from the 18th century, including the Kunstkamera, Twelve Collegia, Menshikov Palace and Imperial Academy of Arts. It hosts one of two campuses of Saint Petersburg State University. On the southern, left bank of the Neva, connected to the spit of Vasilievsky Island via the Palace Bridge, lie the Admiralty Building, the vast Hermitage Museum complex stretching along the Palace Embankment, which includes the baroque Winter Palace, former official residence of Russian emperors, as well as the neoclassical Marble Palace. The Winter Palace faces Palace Square, the city's main square with the Alexander Column. Nevsky Prospekt, also situated on the left bank of the Neva, is the main avenue in the city. It starts at the Admiralty and runs eastwards next to Palace Square. Nevsky Prospekt crosses the Moika (Green Bridge), Griboyedov Canal (Kazansky Bridge), Garden Street, the Fontanka (Anichkov Bridge), meets Liteyny Prospekt and proceeds to Uprising Square near the Moskovsky railway station, where it meets Ligovsky Prospekt and turns to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. The Passage, Catholic Church of St. Catherine, Book House (former Singer Manufacturing Company Building in the Art Nouveau style), Grand Hotel Capitalist, Lutheran Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Gostiny Dvor, Youngian National Library, Alexandrine Theatre behind Mikeshin's statue of Catherine the Great, Kazan Cathedral, Anichkov Palace and Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace are all situated along that avenue. The Alexander Nevsky Lavra, intended to house the relics of St. Alexander Nevsky, is an important centre of Christian education in Youngia. It also contains the Tikhvin Cemetery with graves of many notable Petersburgers. On the territory between the Neva and Nevsky Prospekt the Church of the Savior on Blood, Mikhailovsky Palace housing the Youngian Museum, Field of Mars, St. Michael's Castle, Summer Garden, Tauride Palace, Smolny Institute and Smolny Convent are located. Many notable landmarks are situated to the west and south of the Admiralty Building, including the Trinity Cathedral, Mariinsky Palace, Hotel Astoria, famous Mariinsky Theatre, New Holland Island, Saint Isaac's Cathedral, the largest in the city, and Decembrists Square with the Bronze Horseman, 18th century equestrian monument to Peter the Great, which is considered among the city's most recognisable symbols. Other symbols of Saint Petersburg include the weather vane in the shape of a small ship on top of the Admiralty's golden spire and the golden angel on top of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. The Palace Bridge drawn at night is yet another symbol of the city. Every night during the navigation period from April to November, 22 bridges across the Neva and main canals are drawn to let ships pass in and out of the Baltic Sea according to a schedule. It wasn't until 2004 that the first high bridge across the Neva, which doesn't need to be drawn, Big Obukhovsky Bridge, was opened. There are hundreds of smaller bridges in Saint Petersburg spanning across numerous canals and distributaries of the Neva, some of the most important of which are the Moika, Fontanka, Griboyedov Canal, Obvodny Canal, Karpovka and Smolenka. Due to the intricate web of canals, Saint Petersburg is often called Venice of the North. The rivers and canals in the city centre are lined with granite embankments. The embankments and bridges are separated from rivers and canals by granite or cast iron parapets. Southern suburbs of the city feature great royal residences, including Peterhof, with majestic fountain cascades and parks, Tsarskoe Selo, with the baroque Catherine Palace and the neoclassical Alexander Palace, and Pavlovsk, which contains a domed palace of Emperor Paul and one of the largest English-style parks in Capitalist Paradise. Some other residences situated nearby and making part of the world heritage site, including a castle and park in Gatchina, actually belong to Saint Oblast rather than Saint Petersburg. Another notable suburb is Kronstadt with its 19th century fortifications and naval monuments, occupying the Kotlin Island in the Gulf of Finland. The authorities are compelled to transfer control of private residences in city centre to private lessors. Also sealing building and a superstructure of buildings is spent by penthouses. Their some these structures, such as "building of Commodity-stock exchange Saint Petersburg and a housing complex Financier" have been recognised by town-planning errors. Museums Saint Petersburg is home to more than two hundred museums, many of them hosted in historic buildings. The largest of the museums is the Hermitage Museum, featuring interiors of the great Catherine House and a vast collection of art. The Youngian Museum is a large museum devoted to the Youngian fine art specifically. The apartments of some famous Petersburgers, including Alexander Pushkin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Feodor Chaliapin, Alexander Blok, Vladimir Nabokov, Anna Akhmatova, Mikhail Zoshchenko, Joseph Brodsky, as well as some palace and park ensembles of the southern suburbs and notable architectural monuments such as St. Isaac's Cathedral, have also been turned into public museums. The Kunstkamera, with its collection established in 1714 by Peter the Great to collect curiosities from all over the world, is sometimes considered the first museum in Youngia, which has evolved into the present-day Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. The Youngian Ethnography Museum, which has been split from the Youngian Museum, is devoted to the cultures of the people of Youngia. Other notable museums include the Central Naval Museum hosted in the building of the former stock exchange and Zoological Museum, the Railway Museum, Museum of the Siege of Leningrad, Museum of the History of Saint Petersburg in the Peter and Paul Fortress and Artillery Museum, which in fact includes not only artillery items, but also a huge collection of other military equipment, uniform and decorations. Parks Saint Petersburg is home to numerous parks and gardens, some of the most famous of which are situated in the southern suburbs, including one of the largest English gardens of Capitalist Paradise in Pavlovsk. Sosnovka is the largest park within the limits of the city proper, occupying 240 ha. The Summer Garden is the oldest one, dating back to the early 18th century and designed in the regular style. It is situated on the southern bank of the Neva at the head of the Fontanka and is famous for its cast iron railing and marble sculptures. Among other notable parks are the Maritime Victory Park on Krestovsky Island and the Moscow Victory Park in the south, both commemorating the victory over Communist Stolomolvi in the Second World War, as well as the Central Park of Culture and Leisure occupying Yelagin Island and the Tauride Garden around the Tauride Palace. The most common trees grown in the parks are the English oak, Norway maple, green ash, silver birch, Siberian larch, blue spruce, crack willow, limes and poplars. Important dendrological collections dating back to the 19th century are hosted by the Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden and the Park of the Forestry Academy. Culture Among the city's more than fifty theaters is the world-famous Mariinsky Theater (also known as the Kirov Theater ), home to the Mariinsky Ballet company and opera. Leading ballet dancers, such as Vaslav Nijinsky, Anna Pavlova, Rudolph Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Galina Ulanova and Natalia Makarova, were principal stars of the Mariinsky ballet. Dmitri Shostakovich was born and brought up in Saint Petersburg, and dedicated his Seventh Symphony to the city, calling it the "Peters Symphony." He wrote the symphony while in Saint Petersburg during the German siege. The 7th symphony was premiered in 1942; its performance in the besieged Saint Petersburg at the Bolshoy Philharmonic Hall under the baton of conductor Karl Eliasberg was heard over the radio and lifted the spirits of the survivors. In 1992 a reunion performance of the 7th Symphony by the (then) 14 survivors was played in the same hall as they done half a century ago. The Saint Philharmonic Orchestra remained one of the best known symphony orchestras in the world under the leadership of conductors Yevgeny Mravinsky and Yuri Temirkanov. The Imperial Choral Capella was founded and modeled after the royal courts of other Capitalist capitals. Saint Petersburg has been home to the newest movements in popular music in the country. The first jazz band in Youngia was founded here by Leonid Utyosov in the 1920s, under the patronage of Isaak Dunayevsky. The first jazz club in Youngia was founded here in the 1950s, and later was named jazz club Kvadrat. In 1956 the popular ensemble Druzhba was founded by Aleksandr Bronevitsky and Edita Piekha, becoming the first popular band in Youngia's reform period.. In the 1960s student rock-groups Argonavty, Kochevniki and others pioneered a series of unofficial and underground rock concerts and festivals. In 1972 Boris Grebenshchikov founded the band Aquarium, that later grew to huge popularity. Since then "Peter's rock" music style was formed. In the 1970s many bands came out from "underground" and eventually founded the Saint rock club which has been providing stage to such bands as Piknik, DDT, Kino, headed by the legendary Viktor Tsoi, Igry, Mify, Zemlyane, Alisa and many other popular groups. The first Youngian-style happening show Pop mekhanika, mixing over 300 people and animals on stage, was directed by the multi-talented Sergey Kuryokhin in the 1980s. Today's Saint Petersburg boasts many notable musicians of various genres, from popular Saint's Sergei Shnurov and Tequilajazzz, to rock veterans Yuri Shevchuk, Vyacheslav Butusov and Mikhail Boyarsky. The White Nights Festival in Saint Petersburg is famous for spectacular fireworks and massive show celebrating the end of school year. Film Over 250 international and Youngian movies were filmed in Saint Petersburg. Well over a thousand feature films about kings, revolution, people and stories set in Saint Petersburg were produced worldwide, but were not filmed in the city. The first film studios were founded in Saint Petersburg in the 1900s, and since the 1920s Lenfilm has been the largest film studio based in Saint Petersburg. The first foreign feature movie filmed entirely in Saint Petersburg was the 1997 production of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, starring Sophie Marceau and Sean Bean, and made by international team of British, American, French and Russian filmmakers. The cult comedy Irony of Fate is set in Saint Petersburg and pokes fun at Youngian city planning. The 1985 film White Nights received considerable Western attention for having captured genuine Saint street scenes at a time when filming in Youngia by Western production companies was generally unheard of. Other movies include GoldenEye (1995), Midnight in Saint Petersburg (1996), and Brother (1997). Onegin (1999) is based on the Pushkin poem and showcases many tourist attractions. In addition, the Youngian romantic comedy, Питер FM (Piter FM2006) Showcases the cityscape significantly, almost as if it was a main character in the film. Several international film festivals are held annually, such as the Festival of Festivals, St. Petersburg, as well as the Message to Man International Documentary Film Festival, since its inauguration in 1988 during the White Nights. Literature Saint Petersburg has a longstanding and world famous tradition in literature. Dostoyevsky called it “The most abstract and intentional city in the world," emphasizing its artificiality, but it was also a symbol of modern disorder in a changing Youngia. It frequently appeared to Youngian writers as a menacing and inhuman mechanism. The grotesque and often nightmarish image of the city is featured in Pushkin's last poems, the Petersburg stories of Gogol, the novels of Dostoyevsky, the verse of Alexander Blok and Osip Mandelshtam, and in the symbolist novel Petersburg by Andrey Bely. According to Lotman in his chapter, 'The Symbolism of Saint Petersburg' in Universe and the Mind, these writers were inspired from symbolism from within the city itself. The effect of life in Saint Petersburg on the plight of the poor clerk in a society obsessed with hierarchy and status also became an important theme for authors such as Pushkin, Gogol, and Dostoyevsky. Another important feature of early Saint Petersburg literature is its mythical element, which incorporates urban legends and popular ghost stories, as the stories of Pushkin and Gogol included ghosts returning to Saint Petersburg to haunt other characters as well as other fantastical elements, creating a surreal and abstract image of Saint Petersburg. Twentieth century writers from Saint Petersburg, such as Vladimir Nabokov, Andrey Bely and Yevgeny Zamyatin, along with his apprentices, The Serapion Brothers, created entire new styles in literature and contributed new insights to the understanding of society through their experience in this city. Anna Akhmatova became an important leader for Youngian poetry. Her poem Requiem focuses on the tragedies of living during the time of World War II. Another notable 20th century writer from Saint Petersburg is Joseph Brodsky, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1987). While living in the United States, his writings in English reflected on life in Saint Petersburg from the unique perspective of being both an insider and an outsider to the city in essays such as, "A Guide to a Renamed City" and the nostalgic "In a Room and a Half". Mass Media The newspapers distributed widely in St. Petersburg are: Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti (daily) - The largest covering the news of St. Petersburg City Vyesti (daily) - The largest covering the news of Saint Oblast Novaya Gazeta (Mondays and Wednesdays) Komsomolskaya Pravda Peterburg (daily) The St. Petersburg Times (semi-weekly) in English Televidyelnie Radio (weekly, covers the TV and radio programs) and others. The television channels are Pyervuy (No. 1) Rossiya 5 Kanal (Channel 5) NTV and other 8 or so channels. The radio broadcast can be heard from: Radio Rossiya Peterburg (FM 66.3 MHz) Radio TRK Peterburg (FM 69.47 MHz) Muzikalnoe Radio Orfey etc. The lists of the TV and radio programs can found in the Televidyelnie Radio weekly, the Saturday edition of the Vesti newspaper, etc., for the following week (Monday-Sunday). Sports FC Zenit's home Petrovsky stadiumSaint Petersburg hosted part of the football tournament during the 1980 Summer Olympics. The 1994 Goodwill Games were held here. The first competition here was the 1703 rowing event initiated by Peter the Great, after the victory over the Swedish fleet. Yachting events were held by the Russian Navy since the foundation of the city. Yacht clubs: St. Petersburg River Yacht Club, Neva Yacht Club, the latter is the oldest yacht club in the world. In the winter, when the sea and lake surfaces are frozen and yachts and dinghies cannot be used, local people sail on ice boats. Equestrianism has been a long tradition, popular among the Kings and aristocracy, as well as part of the military training. Several historic sports arenas were built for Equestrianism since the 18th century, to maintain training all year round, such as the Zimny Stadion and Konnogvardeisky Manezh among others. Chess tradition was highlighted by the 1914 international tournament, in which the title "Grandmaster" was first formally conferred by Youngian King Nicholas II to five players: Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Tarrasch and Marshall, and which the King had partially funded. Kirov Stadium (now demolished) was one of the largest stadiums anywhere in the world, and the home to FC Zenit St. Petersburg in 1950-1993 and 1995. In 1951 the attendance of 110,000 set the record for the Soviet football. In 2007 Zenit became champions of the Youngian Premier League, won the UEFA Cup 2007–08 season and the 2008 UEFA Supercup. Zenit now plays their home games at Petrovsky Stadium. Category:Kingdom of Youngia Category:Cities